Chris McGregor: Country Cooking

Photocopied article from the French magazine Jazz Magazine about "Country Cooking" by Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath new LP

Jacques Cujas et les poètes de l’Antiquité tardive

One of the relevant characteristics of legal humanism is the increasing place that take ancient literature and philosophy. Above all, jurists of the sixteenth century have recourse to new texts, in comparison with the medieval jurisprudence. In this way, Jacques Cujas, head of the historical movement of legal humanism, quotes numerous poets of the late Antiquity. As quantitative data and content study show it, their importance cannot be ignored. The functions of these quotations reveal some features of legal humanism : search for the genuine roman law and enliven the argumentation with cultural references.Le courant de l’humanisme juridique se caractérise notamment par la place croissante accordée aux textes littéraires et philosophiques de l’Antiquité. Surtout, les docteurs du XVIe siècle puisent dans des sources bien plus diversifiées que ne l’avait fait la jurisprudence médiévale. Ainsi, Jacques Cujas recourt de manière non négligeable aux poètes de l’Antiquité tardive, dont les rôles ne sauraient être ignorés. L’usage qu’il en fait illustre parfaitement certains traits saillants de l’humanisme historiciste, dont il constitue le principal représentant. Les références à ces auteurs revêtent une double fonction : retrouver le droit romain dans sa vérité historique et agrémenter la démonstration juridique d’illustrations raffinées

Comparison of aerosol spectrometers: Accounting for evaporation and sampling losses

ABSTRACT: Measuring aerosol size distribution with precision is critical to understand the transmission of pathogens causing respiratory illnesses and to identify risk mitigation strategies. It is however a challenging task as the size of pathogen-carrying particles evolves over time due to evaporation. Although measurement techniques well established in the field of aerosol science are often used to characterize bioaerosols, their performance is seldom assessed with respect to evaporation and deposition in sampling lines. Four instruments providing aerosol size distribution were compared using oil and water-based particles. They each rely on different measurement principles: phase doppler anemometry, light scattering, electrical mobility and aerodynamic impaction. Size distributions of oil-based particles showed consistency across different measurement instruments, but significant discrepancies arose for water-based particles undergoing evaporation. These larger differences result from both evaporation and particle deposition in transit between the sampling point and the measurement inside the instrument. Phase doppler anemometry was best suited for precise size distribution measurement, as it eliminates the need for a sampling line, thereby preventing particle loss or evaporation during transit. With this instrument as a reference, empirical correction factors for evaporation and deposition were derived from dimensionless numbers and experimental data, enabling quantitative assessment of bioaerosol size distribution using different instruments. To obtain the size distribution at the source of the aerosol generation, complete drying of a salt solution was performed. Using the complete drying technique and accounting for losses, sampling instruments can reliably provide this critical information and allow for thorough risk assessment in the context of airborne transmission

Extracellular Bacterial Pathogen Induces Host Cell Surface Reorganization to Resist Shear Stress

Bacterial infections targeting the bloodstream lead to a wide array of devastating diseases such as septic shock and meningitis. To study this crucial type of infection, its specific environment needs to be taken into account, in particular the mechanical forces generated by the blood flow. In a previous study using Neisseria meningitidis as a model, we observed that bacterial microcolonies forming on the endothelial cell surface in the vessel lumen are remarkably resistant to mechanical stress. The present study aims to identify the molecular basis of this resistance. N. meningitidis forms aggregates independently of host cells, yet we demonstrate here that cohesive forces involved in these bacterial aggregates are not sufficient to explain the stability of colonies on cell surfaces. Results imply that host cell attributes enhance microcolony cohesion. Microcolonies on the cell surface induce a cellular response consisting of numerous cellular protrusions similar to filopodia that come in close contact with all the bacteria in the microcolony. Consistent with a role of this cellular response, host cell lipid microdomain disruption simultaneously inhibited this response and rendered microcolonies sensitive to blood flow–generated drag forces. We then identified, by a genetic approach, the type IV pili component PilV as a triggering factor of plasma membrane reorganization, and consistently found that microcolonies formed by a pilV mutant are highly sensitive to shear stress. Our study shows that bacteria manipulate host cell functions to reorganize the host cell surface to form filopodia-like structures that enhance the cohesion of the microcolonies and therefore blood vessel colonization under the harsh conditions of the bloodstream

Predictors of mortality and short-term physical and cognitive dependence in critically ill persons 75 years and older: a prospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of 3-month mortality in critically ill older persons under medical care and to assess the clinical impact of an ICU stay on physical and cognitive dependence and subjective health status in survivors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a prospective observational cohort study including all older persons 75 years and older consecutively admitted into ICU during a one-year period, except those admitted after cardiac arrest, All patients were followed for 3 months or until death. Comorbidities were assessed using the Charlson index and physical dependence was evaluated using the Katz index of Activity of Daily Living (ADL). Cognitive dependence was determined by a score based on the individual components of the Lawton index of Daily Living and subjective health status was evaluated using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) score.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One hundred patients were included in the analysis. The mean age was 79.3 ± 3.4 years. The median Charlson index was 6 [IQR, 4 to 7] and the mean ADL and cognitive scores were 5.4 ± 1.1 and 1.2 ± 1.4, respectively, corresponding to a population with a high level of comorbidities but low physical and cognitive dependence. Mortality was 61/100 (61%) at 3 months. In multivariate analysis only comorbidities assessed by the Charlson index [Adjusted Odds Ratio, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2-2.2; <it>p </it>< 0.003] and the number of organ failures assessed by the SOFA score [Adjusted Odds Ratio, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.1-5.2; <it>p </it>< 0.02] were independently associated with 3-month mortality. All 22 patients needing renal support after Day 3 died. Compared with pre-admission, physical (<it>p </it>= 0.04), and cognitive (<it>p </it>= 0.62) dependence in survivors had changed very little at 3 months. In addition, the mean NHP score was 213.1 <b>± </b>132.8 at 3 months, suggesting an acceptable perception of their quality of life.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In a selected population of non surgical patients 75 years and older, admission into the ICU is associated with a 3-month survival rate of 38% with little impact on physical and cognitive dependence and subjective health status. Nevertheless, a high comorbidity level (ie, Charlson index), multi-organ failure, and the need for extra-renal support at the early phase of intensive care could be considered as predictors of death.</p

fbl-Typing of Staphylococcus lugdunensis: A Frontline Tool for Epidemiological Studies, but Not Predictive of Fibrinogen Binding Ability

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is increasingly recognized as a potent pathogen, responsible for severe infections with an outcome resembling that of Staphylococcus aureus. Here, we developed and evaluated a tool for S. lugdunensis typing, using DNA sequence analysis of the repeat-encoding region (R-domain) in the gene encoding the fibrinogen (Fg)-binding protein Fbl (fbl-typing). We typed 240 S. lugdunensis isolates from various clinical and geographical origins. The length of the R-domain ranged from 9 to 52 repeats. fbl-typing identified 54 unique 18-bp repeat sequences and 92 distinct fbl-types. The discriminatory power of fbl-typing was higher than that of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and equivalent to that of tandem repeat sequence typing. fbl-types could assign isolates to MLST clonal complexes with excellent predictive power. The ability to promote adherence to immobilized human Fg was evaluated for 55 isolates chosen to reflect the genetic diversity of the fbl gene. We observed no direct correlation between Fg binding ability and fbl-types. However, the lowest percentage of Fg binding was observed for isolates carrying a 5′-end frameshift mutation of the fbl gene and for those harboring fewer than 43 repeats in the R-domain. qRT-PCR assays for some isolates revealed no correlation between fbl gene expression and Fg binding capacity. In conclusion, this study shows that fbl-typing is a useful tool in S. lugdunensis epidemiology, especially because it is an easy, cost-effective, rapid and portable method (http://fbl-typing.univ-rouen.fr/). The impact of fbl polymorphism on the structure of the protein, its expression on the cell surface and in virulence remains to be determined

Implementation and Validation of a Model Predictive Controller on a Lab-scale Three-Terminal MTDC Grid

In this paper, a reliable methodology is proposed in order to implement and validate a Model Predictive Control (MPC) scheme on an actual Voltage Source Converter (VSC) integrated in a scale-down multi-terminal DC grid. The objective of the investigated MPC controller is to enable AC frequency support among two asynchronous AC areas through a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) grid, while considering physical constraints, such as maximum and minimum DC voltage. A systematic and accurate implementation strategy is proposed, based mainly on the Hardware In the Loop (HIL) and Power Hardware In the Loop (PHIL), leading to the real-life testing on VSC, controlled by a classical microcontroller. The technical problems during the implementation process, as well as the proposed solutions, are described in detail through this paper. This procedure is deemed valuable to bridge the gap between offline simulation and the actual implementation of such advanced control scheme on experimental test rig

Relatório de estágio em farmácia comunitária

Relatório de estágio realizado no âmbito do Mestrado Integrado em Ciências Farmacêuticas, apresentado à Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbr